


Adventures In Fur

by Lunadeath02



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Animals, M/M, Mating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-21 23:42:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7409818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunadeath02/pseuds/Lunadeath02
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a magical accident, and Merlin and Arthur wind up as cats… for a while, anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Asukan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asukan/gifts).



Rating: PG  
Contents: canon AU, magical accident  
Warnings: nothing, really; maybe animals mating?  
Notes: Written for skuares

Summary: There's a magical accident, and Merlin and Arthur wind up as cats… for a while, anyway. 

 

.-.

Merlin was late. The council meeting was starting and his advisor/court magician wasn't there yet.

"We can't wait any longer, sire," Geoffrey of Monmouth said. "We have to begin."

"All right," Arthur sighed. He turned to his manservant, who dutifully stood to attention when he looked at him. "George, go see what's taking Merlin so long."

George gulped. "Um, must I, sire?"

Arthur's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You're not still scared of him, are you?"

"Well, sire, you see…" Arthur could see that George was trying to be a dutiful servant, the perfect servant, but underneath it all his human emotions were slipping.

"Fine, George," Arthur sighed. "Just stay here and wait on me. I'll go see him after the meeting."

George nodded, and although he looked pristine and perfect, Arthur noticed the relief in his stance. "Thank you, sire. You're a very understanding and considerate king, sire."

Arthur sighed, for the umpteenth time today, and got the meeting started.

**

Once the meeting was adjourned, Arthur made a bee-line for Merlin's chambers. He let George go back to his own chambers to straighten things up and start his bath, because he knew how jittery the poor boy could be around Merlin.

Most people were fine with Merlin after it had been made public that he was a sorcerer, but there were still a handful of people that were scared of him. They were the ones that were more scared of magic than anything. Merlin wasn't the type to be frightened of, he was very people-friendly and all smiles, but when it came to using magic (mostly to defend Camelot and her people, including Arthur) then others were reminded of just what kind of power he had.

Merlin was still clumsy at times, but he'd been getting better. He was also one of the best healers in the land, and that was something Arthur would never be afraid of; it was actually very wonderful.

Arthur knocked, first. Last time he just barged in he'd startled Merlin so badly that he dropped a vial he'd been holding and caused a small catastrophe. When no one answered, Arthur opened the door just a little and peeked inside. He couldn't see anyone, lest of all Merlin, so he quietly crept in.

The room looked almost like what Gaius had, except there were more obvious magical items stewed about. Two tables were groaning with vials, bottles, and other instruments, as well as books, inkwells, and quills. The walls were lined with bookshelves and stands for scrolls, and surprisingly enough, everything was more orderly than the royal library. There was just so much stuff that it looked cluttered and messy, but there was a method to the madness, as Merlin had once told him.

He couldn't see Merlin anywhere, and it made him wonder if maybe Merlin went to the woods. Oftentimes Merlin enjoyed going out to the wild to be with his "friends", animals. Merlin had a favourite horse he liked to ride, so he could have taken her to see his owl, or his white dragon, or even the tamed wyvern. Merlin's heart was so big Arthur wondered if it would ever explode one day from all that caring and love. He even teased Merlin once about starting a menagerie next to the castle. Merlin had just shook his head and said, "Really, Arthur, they're wild animals. They belong in the wild."

Arthur suddenly noticed that Merlin's bedroom door was ajar. Well, it was technically just a room where Merlin slept when he wasn't sharing Arthur's quarters (for some reason Merlin liked to be close by, perhaps it gave the young warlock peace of mind). There was candlelight coming from under the slightly open door. Curious, and somewhat cautious, Arthur crept over. He was about to knock when he heard the sound of something crashing, then there was sparkly smoke drifting up from the floor, and then Merlin shouting: "Buggering Hell!"

"Merlin!" Arthur gasped. He ran inside, worried that something dreadful had happened…

Then his body shook and he was shrinking. The sparkly smoke that touched him had indeed effected him, and he was suddenly a different shape. The spell, or whatever it was, was such a shock to his system that he fell unconscious.

When he came to, he opened his eyes to see something furry and black lying beside him. Carefully, Arthur tried to stand, but then fell back down again in his surprise when he realized that he couldn't stand on his two feet… and that he had paws. Orange, furry paws.

"Meooow?" he said, and then clammed up in shock. He couldn't speak right, no matter how much he tried, but then when the black lump on the floor that used to be Merlin stirred and groaned, Arthur temporarily forgot his own predicament and crawl toward him.

'What happened?' Merlin said, and Arthur jumped when he said it, because it was so different and echo-y sounding in his head. He tried to speak again but it only came out in meows. Merlin looked up and their eyes met.

Merlin had turned himself into a cat. His fur was about the same colour as his hair was when human, but his eyes were a green-blue. His ears, naturally, were large and twitching, and the length of his fur was short.

'Merlin?' Arthur slowly tried to say in his mind. 'Can you hear me?'

'Yes, I can hear you,' Merlin said. 'What happened? Why are you an orange tabby?'

'I don't know, Merlin,' Arthur huffed, sitting down on his hunches, his tail wagging fiercely. 'Why are YOU a black cat?'

Merlin looked down at himself, lifting his paws and sniffing. 'Huh… so that's what that powder was.'

'You mean you didn't know?' Arthur felt like he wanted to claw Merlin's eyes out. He hissed and spat and Merlin stood up on all four paws in his shock, tail frizzed and ears pulled back.

'I was trying to find a certain ingredient for a certain potion…'

'Will you tell me what potion it was that you were working on?'

'Um, no…?'

'Merlin!' Arthur hissed.

'I'm sorry, but it's best if no one knows. It's just an experiment, you see, and if I'm wrong I don't want anyone to find out and use it for evil purposes.' Then he slinked closer to Arthur, ears flat and tail tucked tight against his body. 'You're not angry with me, are you?'

'What, me? Angry?' Arthur hissed again. 'Oh, whatever gave you that idea?'

The look Merlin gave him slowly melted his heart though, and Arthur sighed (if cats could do such a thing… which, actually, they could since it was just a big exhale) and brought his face down to lick Merlin's head. Merlin instantly began to purr, keeping his eyes shut and sat there as he took Arthur's scratchy tongue happily. Arthur continued to lick Merlin's face, cheek, closed eyes, and then his ears. He raised a paw to pull Merlin closer, keeping his paw on his head, and nibbled on Merlin's ear. Because he was closer now, Merlin joined Arthur in the tongue bath, licking and kitty-nibbling on Arthur's face.

After having quite the rousing bath, Arthur and Merlin easily learned how to walk on their four paws and left Merlin's bedroom. Everything looked so different; the colours were off and the scents were stronger, and he could hear things much, much better. It took some getting used to, but they were soon out of Merlin's chambers and were making their way to Gaius's quarters. The man may be retired but he might be their only hope.


	2. Chapter 2

**  
It took a while for them to even reach Gaius' quarters because Merlin kept lagging. One minute Merlin was staring at a bug scuttling along the floor in fascination and the next he'd stopped to clean his rear.

Frustrated, Arthur pounced on him and ordered him to get a move on. 'We need to go see Gaius and see if he can help us. Lord knows you're not in any state to undo this enchantment.'

'I could if I had the knowledge,' Merlin fired back with. 'But yes, we do need Gaius. I can't help myself; everything is so different when you're a cat.'

'Don't you think I haven't noticed?' Arthur huffed. 'Now let's go.'

'Once you stop licking my face.'

'Can't be helped,' Arthur said, moving away and licking his chops. He was thankful cats cannot blush. 'I don't understand why, but I have this overwhelming urge to lick you.'

Merlin laughed softly, or however a cat could show amusement. 'Perhaps we could figure out why later, after speaking to Gaius…'

'Actually, how are we going to do that?' Arthur said as they resumed their trek toward the old man's place. 'We're cats. It isn't like we can just tell him what happened. And how are we going to open the door?' They stuck close together as they went, their sides rubbing against each other's and tips of tails entwined.

'Well, the latter wouldn't be too hard. We'll just scratch on the door and meow. The former, however, might be a little trickier.'

As they reached Gaius' door, Arthur turned to Merlin and asked, 'Can you still do magic in your cat form?'

'I'm not sure… I haven't tried it.'

'Well, try something now.' Arthur sat and began to lick his paws. He didn't know why he was so fixated on licking and cleaning. It made him wonder if maybe it was a nervous habit. That, in turn, made him wonder if he had a nervous habit when he was human. Or perhaps he was just that much into being clean.

'Okay,' Merlin answered. 'I'll try.'

The opposite side of the hallway had a window. Merlin carefully timed his jump and was on the windowsill with wide, round eyes, shocked to have made the jump. Being a cat must be a good advantage for Merlin who was usually clumsy when it came to jumping.

There was enough sunlight shining through the glass that it made a sunbeam, with small dust motes floating in the air. Merlin turned his cat eyes on the square of light being cast onto the floor. Arthur almost made a noise in his surprise when he saw Merlin's blue-green eyes glow a fiery gold, and then the square of light on the floor transformed into a different shape: a dragon.

'Guess that means I can still do magic as a cat,' Merlin said smugly, head high and tail twitching.

'Good, then you'll be able to do whatever spell undoes this enchantment once Gaius finds it for you.'

Merlin jumped down from the sill, and as if they'd just agreed to do so, they lifted their paws to the wooden door and unsheathed their claws. With them both doing it, it was loud enough to echo throughout the entire hallway.

Out of instinct, Arthur meowed loud and shrilly. His meow sounded almost… bossy. Merlin wasn't very surprised.

The door opened, and Gaius looked out. He looked to have been expecting people standing in front of the door, but when he saw no one there he looked left and then right down the hall. He scratched his head in confusion.

Merlin meowed this time, as if saying 'we're down here!' Gaius looked down quickly, and once he saw them his brow knitted.

"What in the…" Gaius started, but Arthur didn't have the patience for it. He darted underneath the old man's legs and raced toward the table that held a few books and some glass vials and bottles from Gaius' private collection. He hadn't given Merlin everything he owned, after all.

Merlin followed a bit more slowly. He kept looking up at Gaius as if he expected him to know just who he was, but Gaius continued to look perplexed by the sight of two cats seemingly out of nowhere. Merlin meowed then, trying to explain, but it didn't help much.

"Are you hungry?" Gaius asked kindly. He leaned down to pat Merlin on the head. Always affectionate toward the old man, Merlin purred and then raced up Gaius' arm and jumped onto his back. Gaius was a little shocked, but still he shut the door and led Merlin over to the table.

Arthur was sitting on the very edge, his chest puffed out and tail twitching off the side. Even as a cat Arthur looked regal, his face long and whiskers full. When Gaius got close enough, Merlin leapt off his shoulders and landed right next to Arthur, his tail nearly knocking over a long tube with a clear hose leading to another beaker, dripping something clear into it.

"Careful there," Gaius said, catching the tube.

Merlin sat beside Arthur, which was a mistake because it made Arthur turn his head and start licking him again. Merlin tried to move away, shaking his head, but he couldn't without accidentally bumping into something again. But he did like it and started to purr.

"Well," said Gaius after a while. "I don't know who you two belong to, but you really can't stay here. My rooms are no place for cats, or any animals come to think of it." He petted Merlin on the head again, and Merlin head-butted his hand. "Although cats are quite agile things, you, little black one, seem to be a little clumsy. I'm almost prone to call you Merlin."

Merlin sulked, not sure if he should be pleased that Gaius might recognize him on that alone. Arthur thought it was quite amusing, chuckling in his head. The tip of Merlin's tail twitched.

Arthur decided that now was a good time as any to try to get Gaius to understand that it was them. With swift, agile movements, Arthur weaved around the objects on the table and went straight for the stack of books about magic. Gaius usually used them to help Merlin in his research or to help aid Camelot whenever it was in danger (usually from Morgana). Although Merlin was quite capable to do most of the research and defensive magic, Gaius was still knowledgeable in many things that Merlin didn't know yet. There was still plenty of ways that Gaius helped the kingdom even if he was semi-retired.

Gaius didn't seem to understand why the orange tabby went to his magical tomes and started pawing them. The cat meowed loud and long, and if Gaius hadn't known better he'd say that the cat was trying to tell him something.

'Maybe I should try to write…' Merlin offered. Slowly and carefully he weaved around the same path that Arthur had done, but his tail ended up smacking one of the glass vials and knocking it to the floor. When it crashed, Merlin froze and cringed (in a way only a cat could) from the sound.

"Merlin!" Gaius berated habitually. He then froze when he realized just what he'd said. "Ah, perhaps I should call you that after all. Of course Merlin might not—"

Merlin meowed hopefully, looking straight at him. 'Come on, Gaius, you're on the right track! Think, please. I AM Merlin!' He meowed again, hoping his old mentor understood, but Gaius didn't seem to be paying any attention as he bent down to clean up the mess Merlin made, ending his sentence with "—be too happy with me naming a clumsy black cat after him."

'If only I had thumbs,' Merlin grumped. He flexed his claws against the table thoughtfully as he stared at the quill in the inkwell.

'That's it, Merlin,' Arthur said excitedly. 'You can still use magic, so why not write magically in the air?'

'Oh hell,' Merlin bemoaned. 'Why didn't I think of that?'

Arthur bopped Merlin on the head lightly with his paw. 'Because you're obviously brainless when in another form. Not that you were that smart originally.'

'Very funny, sire,' Merlin said. When Gaius stood to deposit the glass shards into the bin, Merlin sat himself onto the magical book, balancing on the edge, and narrowed his eyes. For a second it didn't seem like it would work. Merlin strained, thinking hard on the spell he wanted to cast, and finally when Gaius turned around, gold, glowing letters slowly started to form in midair.

"Perhaps if you're a good kitty, Merlin, I'll give you—" Gaius froze, again, and reeled back when he saw the magical letters appear before his eyes.

**Gaius, it really is me. Merlin.**

Gaius didn't respond right away. He stared at Merlin as if he were thinking he was dreaming. Merlin's eyes narrowed and he meowed instinctively, forgetting to use magic to communicate.

"Merlin?" Gaius said, uncertain.

**Yes, Gaius. It's true, Merlin wrote. And thanks for nearly recognising me simply because I'm still a bit clumsy in this form.**

"You're welcome," Gaius laughed. "Now, what happened? And who is this?" He jabbed a finger at Arthur.

**It was an accident, Merlin explained. And that regal looking tabby is Arthur. I'm surprised you didn't recognize him by his prattish-ness.**

Arthur hissed and swatted Merlin on the head again. Gaius laughed.

"Oh yes, I see it now. And I suppose you want my help in getting back to normal."

**That is the plan. Thankfully I can still do magic as a cat, so all you have to do is find the spell to reverse this and I'll take care of the rest.**

"Are you sure the antidote isn't a potion?"

**If it is, it's poor planning on the maker of the spell.**

'Unless one is supposed to have the antidote made first before doing the spell,' Arthur pointed out. Merlin sighed, hoping Arthur wasn't right. He didn't think he'd like being stuck as a cat, having to chase and eat mice. Although, it would take a lot of his burdens away…

"I'll get on it right away," Gaius said. "After all, we can't have a cat for a king, can we?" he chuckled.

Arthur flattened his ears and growled low. Merlin nudged him with his face, and Arthur automatically started to lick him in return. Merlin purred loudly.

**Yes, Gaius… but no hurry.**

'Shut up, Merlin,' Arthur said, nibbling one of his ears.

TBC

 

Cat information from Wikipedia:  
Cats also lick each other and people (e.g. their owners). Cats lick each other to groom one another and to bond (this grooming is usually done between cats who know each other very well). They will also sometimes lick people for similar reasons. These reasons include wanting to "groom" people and to show them care and affection.  
It is also, as someone else had mentioned to me in the comments section (of my LJ), a way of showing dominance. The more dominant cat will lick the lesser dominant cat.

**


	3. Chapter 3

Warnings: none, except for mating cats

**

While Gaius pored through his books to find the countercurse that would put Merlin and Arthur to rights, Arthur opted to roam the castle instead of staying in the old physician's room.

'Besides,' Arthur explained. 'I still have to make sure the kingdom is running smoothly. Just because I'm a cat now doesn't mean I can skive off my duties.'

'If something happens, how will you take care of it?' Merlin asked.

'Well, I… er… don't bother me with the details now,' Arthur growled. 'Just be on the lookout for troublemakers and the like…'

At least he could still use magic, Merlin thought. If there was some sort of attack on the kingdom then he could do whatever he could to stop it. But how embarrassing would that be for Morgana if a mere cat thwarted her? Well, a cat that could do magic anyway.

Interestingly enough, they ended up in the kitchens. Merlin wasn't sure if it was the smell of food that lured his king here or if he had planned to check out the kitchen staff first. Either way, they slinked in and snuck underneath the table, which was laden heavily with food. Merlin fought the instinctive urge to beg, but he held himself in check when he noticed that even Arthur was struggling not to meow either.

'Hungry, sire?' Merlin said.

'It is nearing dinnertime,' Arthur explained.

'We could, um, well—'

'We could what, Merlin?'

'Sneak a few scraps for ourselves.'

'That would be stealing.'

'But you're the king,' Merlin said. 'Surely you're entitled to take whatever you wish, even if you're a cat.'

'But they won't know it's me.'

'As I said, we'll sneak. Believe it or not, sire, I'm well learned in that particular art.'

'I believe you,' Arthur snorted.

Unfortunately, the moment they thought the coast was clear and jumped onto the table, the head cook turned and saw them. She screeched and swung a broom at them just as Arthur grabbed on to a hunk of meat between his teeth. Merlin wasn't so lucky.

"Scram, you flea-bitten mongrels! Out of my kitchen!"

They ran as if a rampaging beast were after them (which was practically the case, if one called the cook a beast), and finally stopped when they reached the stables. The cook had stopped chasing them by then, but they didn't feel safe until they were at least a mile away.

Arthur didn't waste much time when they entered the stables and gobbled the meat as fast as he could. Merlin inched closer, trying to take a scrap, but Arthur hissed and dug his claws into the meat, staring Merlin down.

'Aw, come on, Arthur, give me a little bit at least. I'm hungry!'

'Mine,' Arthur growled, and proceeded to finish eating. His amber eyes watched Merlin closely.

'But, but it's me! Merlin! I'm your mate, your protector and court magician. Come on, it's not fair.'

Swallowing the last bit, Arthur sat back on his hunches and began licking his paw and then used it to wipe at his face. 'No,' he said. 'What isn't fair was the cook thinking I'm a mongrel! I come from a long line of royalty and strong warriors.'

Merlin rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, very pureblooded, I'm sure, but she didn't know that. To her we were just a couple of mangy cats.'

'Hey, I am not mangy!' Arthur huffed, and then proceeded to continue licking and cleaning his face and fur. 'I'm a perfectly healthy specimen.'

Merlin gave up and went to find his own food, preferably nothing that squeaks or was infested with some disease.

**

Merlin had no luck finding any food on his own, and he was about to give up when an idea struck him: if he couldn't feed himself then he could find someone to do it for him. At first he thought of Gaius, who would have been a good person to see (i.e. beg food from) except Gaius was busy going through books and scrolls in order to help him and Arthur return to normal. He didn't want to bother Gaius, so he thought more about who he could see. Then, he thought of the perfect person.

Getting to the person's front door, Merlin meowed and cried and scratched at the wooden door until it opened. He looked up into the face of one of his best friends.

"Oh, what a sweet little kitty!" Gwen cooed. She bent down and scooped him up easily as if she'd done this every day to every cat she saw. "Oh my, aren't you skinny! Looks like you could use a little fattening up."

"Meow!" Merlin replied happily, which he hoped was cat talk for 'yes, please, I'm very hungry!'

Gwen set him down on her table and went over to the cupboard in the corner. From out of it she produced a jar of goat's milk, a hunk of cheese, and some bread.

"I'll share some of this with you," she said. "Is that okay?"

'That is more than okay!' Merlin thought. Out loud he said, "Me~ooow!"

Gwen giggled. "You're so cute." After she set everything out, giving Merlin a saucer of the goat's milk and a bit of cheese, she said, "I wonder who you belong to. I haven't seen a cat like you around before. You must have wandered into Camelot all by yourself, you poor thing."

He wasn't exactly alone, so he tried to say so when he remembered that he could have used his magic to talk to her all along and saved himself the embarrassment. Slowly, so as not to startle her too badly, he wrote in the air between them:

**It's me. Merlin.**

"Goodness!" Gwen gasped, nearly falling off her stool. "I—wait, is this some sort of trick?" She looked around the room as if she was expecting to see Merlin hiding in a corner or under her bed. "This better not be some kind of practical joke of yours, Merlin."

**No, it's really me.** To emphasis, Merlin meowed and sat up straight. **Watch, I'll prove it. I'll lift my right paw…** Merlin did just that. **Now my left.** Merlin waved his left paw in the air. She stared as if she didn't want to believe it.

"You're controlling the cat's arms."

**No,** Merlin shook his head. **It's really me. I accidentally turned myself into a cat. And… er… Arthur as well.**

Gwen's eyes grew nearly ten times their sizes and she blinked comically. "No, you're joking! I mean… you and Arthur are… are cats?"

**Gaius is trying to find the antidote as we speak. Er, as you speak. I'm using my magic in order to communicate, more like.**

"Oh… oh my goodness, this is…" Gwen started to crack up.

Merlin sulked, his ears pulled back. **It's not funny.**

"I'm sorry, Merlin, but… Arthur? A cat?" She continued to laugh.

**He's an orange tabby… a very stuck up and bossy orange tabby.**

Gwen burst into louder guffaws, head thrown back. "Oh, this is too good! I mean, it's bad that it happened and I do hope that Gaius finds the countercurse, but… oh, it's just too much!"

Merlin finished his food as she calmed her giggles, and soon she was back to being her usual sweet self, as she petted Merlin and scratched him behind the ears. They thought about what to do if something went wrong and Arthur was stuck as a cat forever.

'Oh, no, don't worry about me at all, Gwen,' Merlin grumbled to himself. 'No need to worry about Merlin, he's always fine, right?'

Merlin didn't blame her for being more worried for Arthur. In fact, he was admittedly more worried for Arthur too.

Finally, helped by Gwen, Merlin was able to get a little meat as well from the kitchens before she brought him to Gaius's chambers.

"Oh, Gwen," Gaius said. "And…" he hesitated.

**Yes, she knows it's me.**

"Yes, well, good. Anyway, I haven't had much luck. I was thinking that maybe the countercurse or antidote to yours and Arthur's conditions would be in your magic book."

Merlin was stunned, not to mention shocked at his inability to think properly during this mini crisis. **Oh, I haven't thought of that.**

"It must be the transformation," Gwen said. "Maybe. I mean, cats have smaller brains, right?"

"Speaking of which, where's Arthur?" Gaius asked.

**Oh no… last I saw him he was in the stables.**

"You should go find him while I fetch your book. Find him before His Majesty gets himself into trouble."

Agreeing, Gwen and Merlin went to do just that. She set Merlin down on the ground so that he could run on his own four paws. Plus, it was quicker for Merlin that way, being able to run much faster than her. So Merlin was able to reach the stables first, but when he went inside and looked around he found no trace of Arthur.

'Oh great, I lost the king,' Merlin berated with himself. 'Good going, Merlin.'

Gwen arrived moments later and after Merlin told her, with magic, that he wasn't there they decided to split up and search the area. Hopefully, Arthur hadn't gone too far.

Merlin tried to use his sense of smell to locate his wayward king, but a lot of other smells kept getting in the way, like rats, squirrels, moles, birds, horse manure, and other things.

It wasn't until he heard some dogs barking about a half mile away that he had a feeling he might have discovered where Arthur had gone. Normally, as a cat, Merlin felt the urge to flee from the sound of the barks, but if his king was in trouble… he had to do something. So, after hesitating only a little, Merlin bolted toward the sound of the barking. Not even a minute later, Merlin saw the usual group of hunting dogs at the base of a tree barking up at something.

Hackles raised and fear rolling around in his stomach, Merlin quietly approached the other side of the tree behind a bush, keeping himself as low to the ground as possible. He looked up and immediately spotted the royal prat of a tabby himself sitting on a high branch, tail wagging fiercely as he watched the dogs below him. Concentrating more, Merlin could just hear Arthur growling low in his throat.

He had to save his king. Without thinking about his actions, as usual, Merlin bounded out from the bushes and hissed and spat at the dogs. Drawing their attentions, they moved in closer toward him. Merlin arched his back and puffed out his tail, trying to make himself look bigger than he was, which wasn't much since, as Gwen had already stated, he was quite the skinny thing.

'Merlin!' Arthur shouted from above him. 'What are you doing? You'll get yourself killed!'

'I'm here to save you, sire,' Merlin said, a bit more bravely than how he really felt.

The dogs bared their teeth and snarled, inching closer to him. He had to stand his ground; he knew that the moment he tried to make a run for it they'd start to chase him. On the other hand, these dogs were killers. Arthur had no qualms before about his hunting dogs chasing cats and hurting them, so they didn't have a friendly bone in their bodies when it came to cats. He knew the moment one of them got their teeth into him he was a goner. He couldn't let that happen to Arthur either.

Then again, he did have magic.

'I'll draw them away so that you can get down and find a safe place, sire,' Merlin called up to him. 'So get ready to jump…'

'Merlin, no! What if they catch you? They're trained killers!'

'I'll be fine, Your Majesty. Just go…' Merlin backed up a few paces, and the dogs instantly lunged. 'NOW!'

Merlin ran his little legs off. He wanted to make sure that he got the dogs far enough away from Arthur before he tried to save himself. He had to locate the place to do so and fast.

'There!' he spotted almost instantly.

He made it into the woods, thankfully without a scratch on him. It was the perfect spot to do what he had planned.

'COME GET ME,' Merlin shouted, hoping the dogs understood what he had said. He doubted it, since they'd been born dogs all their lives and never been human (that's what made Merlin figure was the reason why he and Arthur could communicate via mind and understand each other, unless of course dogs couldn't understand cat talk…).

When he was almost near the edge of the river, he quickly turned around and cast a spell.

His eyes glowed bright gold. He hissed at the same time as he thought the spell in his head, and he was suddenly a lot brighter, and hotter.

He'd turned himself into a fire cat. Or more like he turned his fur and outer body into flames. The dogs did not like that the prey they'd just been chasing suddenly turned into a hissing, growling ball of fire. At first they just stood there and stared, ears erect and tails wagging straight out in curiosity and wonder. Then when one got too close, Merlin spat at it and flared more brilliantly, like when more fuel was added to a campfire. The dog backed away quickly and yelped. Merlin did it again, a little flaming kitty ball of death, and drove the dogs away. They yelped and yipped all the way back to their kennels. Hopefully Arthur had got down from the tree by then and made his way back to the citadel safely.

Moments later, Merlin was back to being just a plain, ordinary black cat. At first he made his way back slowly, keeping an ear and eye out for the dogs, but he didn't see them. He made it to the castle, after having passed the tree Arthur had just been up and saw it was empty. He first went to Gwen's, but she hadn't seen Arthur. Then he went to Gaius, and he said the same thing (while poring over Merlin's magic book). Thinking maybe he had an idea of where he'd gone, Merlin went immediately to his own chambers.

He knew that if Arthur had it his way he'd be in his own room, but Arthur normally locked his room up when gone so there would be no way for him to get inside as a cat. But if Merlin remembered correctly, his door was still wide open when they had left after the accident.

He was right. The moment Merlin entered his rooms and went into his sleeping quarters, he found Arthur lying on his bed, curled up from head to tail.

It was such a relieving sight that Merlin jumped up and plopped himself down next to Arthur without a care. Arthur was sound asleep, most likely having worn himself out after such a terrifying incident, so Merlin's raspy tongue didn't stir Arthur at all; it only gave Arthur an amusing hair-do.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Rating: PG-15 to R  
Notes: written for  
Warnings: cats "mating", or more or less showing whose dominant, and then again when they're humans

**

Merlin woke up warm, the sun from his window beaming down on him, and wet—Arthur was giving him a tongue bath, again.

'Must you?' he asked, groggy. He yawned, tongue curled and pink.

'As I have said before, I can't help it,' Arthur said. 'Maybe it's because you don't seem to know how to bathe yourself, so my instinct is to help you in that.'

'I can bathe myself just fine,' Merlin grumped. 'I can bathe you, in fact,' he added, and then proceeded to do just that.

They licked and cleaned each other for who knew how long. Merlin was now sporting a crazy hair-do thanks to Arthur licking his fur in the wrong direction, and his ears had never been given such attention before now. Every time Arthur's tongue was in his ear, Merlin cringed and allowed it for a few seconds before shaking his head in slight annoyance. Yet, he kept on letting Arthur lick his face and ears until he felt a bit soggy.

It wasn't long until their cleaning session turned into play fighting. Lying on their sides, facing each other, the teeth came out, as well as grabbling and kicking each other with their hind legs. They wrestled on the bed like that for a few minutes until Arthur got the upper hand and pounced on top of him. Arthur, most of his body on Merlin, continued to play bite and wrestle while Merlin struggled below, trying to give as much as he got. It didn't take long for Arthur to be nearly squashing Merlin underneath him, lightly grabbing hold of Merlin's throat by the teeth. Merlin surrendered, knowing sadly that he wasn't the dominant male here. (He never thought to use his magic against his king; he never wanted to when they were humans, and that didn't change now that they were cats.)

'Giving up so soon, Merlin?' Arthur teased, still squashing him with his weight. Arthur was indeed a strong and muscular cat.

'Like I have a choice,' Merlin grumbled. He growled low in his throat to emphasis his displeasure. The tip of his tail thrashed about as well as he stared up at the orange tabby.

'Good to know you understand just who the dominate one is around here. I'd have thought you'd be just as disrespectful as you are when human.'

'Have you not been paying attention?' Merlin huffed. 'I've been fighting back instead of just letting you lord over me right away. Next time I may just win.'

'Ha!' Arthur scoffed. He pounced on top of Merlin again when Merlin tried to sit up. Merlin ended up lying flat on his paws, belly pressed to the bed. 'I highly doubt you'll win next time as well.' To emphasis his point, Arthur nipped at the back of Merlin's head.

'Don't underestimate me, sire,' Merlin said. He tried to lift Arthur off him, but Arthur didn't want any of it. He wanted Merlin to admit he was the dominate male, so his feline instincts kicked in: he gripped Merlin's nape with his teeth and straddled his rump.

'Now who is the dominant one?' Arthur hissed.

Merlin struggled under him, trying to roll them both over, but Arthur was still the stronger one. Merlin was unfortunately rather skinny, mostly sleek fur and wiry muscles. Arthur was huskier and larger, and using that to his advantage. Merlin was getting nowhere.

'Let me up!' Merlin huffed. 'I'm not a female cat!'

'Now that would be rich,' Arthur chuckled. 'You as my queen… you do get the reference, Merlin? A female cat is called—'

'Yes, I got it,' Merlin growled. He tried to flip Arthur over again, but with no luck.

The significance of their position struck them, but Arthur still didn't move. Merlin was stubborn and didn't want to give Arthur the satisfaction of winning his authority so quickly. They stayed like that for who knew how long, Merlin's tail twitching rapidly beneath Arthur's crouched rear.

He thought for sure that Arthur was going to let him go after he'd gone a little slack; instead, Merlin suddenly felt a sharp pinch-like pain when Arthur actually started to penetrate him.

Merlin let out a long mew, both in irritation and embarrassment, which turned into a snarl and a hiss when Arthur pushed the rest of the way inside. He wiggled to free himself, but Arthur held fast. After a few more quick, hard jabs, Arthur finally pulled out. It stung. Merlin turned and swiped Arthur on the nose for it.

'Arse!' Merlin hissed.

'Maybe now you'll understand that I am, and always will be, the more dominate male here, and next time you won't be so insubordinate and listen to your King.' Arthur lifted his hind leg and began licking his still erect penis.

'If I always listened to my king,' Merlin said, gently cleaning his sore rear, 'then we'd be dead long ago.'

Arthur growled and proceeded to chase Merlin around the room, Merlin hissing and growling. Arthur ended up chasing him straight out of the bedroom and into the living area of Merlin's quarters. Luckily in their roughhousing they didn't break anything vital, but they did knock over a chair before Merlin accidentally smacked sideways into his bookshelf. He only rattled it, and his head. A little injured, in pride more than anything physical, Merlin shook his head and twitched his large ears. Arthur wasted no time and tackled him to the floor.

Merlin cried out, and then laid there on his back, paws up and belly exposed before his king. Arthur loomed over him, ears flat against his skull, whiskers back, and tail thrashing about across the floor.

'Do you yield?' Arthur said.

Loath as he was to admit it, Merlin could do nothing but yield before his king. He was indeed much stronger than him. For a split second Merlin thought about using his magic in order to obtain the domineering role, but he had promised Arthur that he would never use his magic forcefully against him unless strictly necessary.

Merlin lowered his green-blue eyes in subordination and began to purr, quickly saying, 'Yes, my King, I yield…'

Arthur then grabbed onto the back of Merlin's head with a curled paw and pulled him forward for a good lick and nibble. Merlin's purring only became louder the more his king bathed him.

'You have no idea just how lucky you are to have me as your sovereign, Merlin,' Arthur said, and Merlin was pleased to hear a hint of a purr coming from him, too.

'Yes, sire,' Merlin said.

After a while, they made their way back into Merlin's sleeping quarters and on the bed, curled up, purring, and happy. They slept.

**

Two hours later, Gaius came up to give them the good news: he'd found the spell that would transform them back to humans. He found them on Merlin's bed, curled up together sleeping. He was almost afraid to disturb them.

He gave them another few minutes of rest before coming back in and sitting on the edge of the bed. Gaius first laid a gentle hand on Merlin, scratching him between the shoulder blades and then petting him down his back. Instinctually, Merlin uncurled and stretched, his body becoming a long, slinky thing. Gaius petted his stomach and said softly, "Merlin?"

Merlin let out a soft trill, part purr and part meow. His eyes opened into slits and his gaze fell on Gaius' kind face. He chirped in sleepy greeting, then stretched again, his front paws curling against his chest.

"Awake yet?" Gaius chuckled. "I found the counter-curse that'll change you and Arthur back into humans. Would you like it now or should I come back later?"

Merlin stood and arched his back in a stretch, yawning. Magically he wrote in the air between them:

**You really found it? That's good to hear.**

"You don't sound very happy about it, or is it because you can't express it well in writing?"

**No, I'm still just waking up.** Merlin purred and bumped his forehead against Gaius' hand. **It was nice laying here curled around Arthur, though. I'm almost sad to be returning to normal, because I might not get to do this again.**

"I'm sure if you ask Arthur nicely…"

Merlin shook his head as if he were trying to dislodge a sand flea. **I doubt Arthur would be willing to cuddle with his manservant. It's best if we were back to being humans, though.**

"Maybe you two could do this on off days?" Gaius suggested. He understood Merlin's feelings, even if Merlin himself didn't want to think too hard on them.

**Maybe…**

Arthur then chose that moment to wake up.

'Good morning, Gaius.' Arthur said, forgetting Gaius couldn't hear him except for a soft meowing noise.

**Arthur says good morning,** Merlin told Gaius.

"Yes, I got the gist," Gaius chuckled. He patted Arthur on the head and then down his body, but when his fingers got too close to Arthur's tail, Arthur turned his head and gave a warning nip to his hand. Gaius retracted his hand right away. "Right, good morning to you too, sire. I have the spell to turn you two back to normal. Just a moment…"

Gaius then produced a piece of old parchment with the spell written out on it. He laid it flat on the bed before Merlin to show him. Merlin bowed his head over the parchment to read. It was a little harder to understand the scribblings as a cat, but his brain slowly processed it.

**Okay, I got it,** Merlin told Gaius. He turned to face Arthur. 'Ready, sire?'

'Very,' Arthur said. 'I'm getting hungry and the last thing I want to do is fight the cook for my breakfast this morning.'

'Of course,' Merlin chuckled. 'I forgot that you're quite cranky when you don't eat your breakfast…' Merlin ducked Arthur's swat. 'Do you want to stay a cat, sire? Because I could just turn myself human and leave you with fur and whiskers…'

'All right, I'm sorry,' Arthur huffed. 'Now get a move on!'

Merlin concentrated with all his might, eyes fixed on Arthur. He said the spell in his head, and it only took the one try before they were growing and changing. Gaius stood to give them more room, seeing how Merlin's bed still wasn't very big, and soon there were two grown human beings sitting in the middle of Merlin's bed.

"It's about time," Arthur griped. "I have to overlook the knights today… and then we have an audience with a few farmers…"

Merlin stood with his king, and then noticed that he hadn't actually concentrated hard enough on the spell as he'd thought he had. His eyes fell on a long, orange appendage twitching side to side from behind Arthur. A tail.

Merlin muffled his laugh with a hand, his mind considering if he should tell Arthur about it or not, or if he should just secretly make it disappear.

Gaius noticed and raised an eyebrow at him, and Merlin shrugged and quickly followed Arthur out, not wanting to get into anything with his old mentor just yet. It wasn't until they nearly reached Arthur's rooms when Merlin decided to get rid of the tail. It wouldn't do to have Arthur even angrier than he was now (not that he was that angry) before the day even begun. Unfortunately, George was in the hallway when he'd done the spell and saw him. George then dropped the platter of food in his horror, and turned and ran, like he normally did whenever he saw Merlin do magic.

Arthur knew about it too, and he whirled on Merlin, eyebrows furrowed.

"What have I told you about doing magic in front of George? Now look at what happened to my breakfast!"

"If you wanted to keep the tail you only had to say so," Merlin shot back. It took Arthur by surprise and Merlin used that to his advantage to escape his moody king.

**

Days went by without much incident. They both remembered when Arthur had to demonstrate his superiority over Merlin when they were cats, even if they tried to ignore it. Merlin swore he could still feel the sharp pang of the penetration and then the sting when Arthur had pulled out. Merlin had tried to bring up the topic a few times, wanting to know if Arthur wouldn't mind becoming cats again purely for the sake of cuddling together on the bed, but he'd lose his nerve every time.

Until one day, when Merlin was in Arthur's chambers overseeing the preparations of the anniversary of the lift on the magic ban, Arthur startled him when he pulled him into a sudden hug. Merlin squeaked in his surprise.

"What was that for?" he asked.

Arthur shrugged. "I just felt like it. Is there a problem with that?"

"Oh, no. Of course not, sire. It's just so unlike you lately I thought maybe you've gone mad or something."

Arthur pulled Merlin into his arms again and kissed him. Merlin gasped in his mouth in shock, but he didn't fight it; not at all. Merlin wrapped his arms around his king's shoulders and kissed back just as fiercely.

"I had this question that I've been meaning to ask…" Merlin said, before Arthur dove in for another kiss.

"Yes?" Arthur nuzzled.

"Well… would it be okay if we got back to the cuddling? I mean, we could become cats again to do it if it makes you feel more comfortable…"

"I wouldn't mind too terribly if we were cats again some time, but we don't need to be cats in order to… well…"

"Cuddle?" Merlin supplied.

"Yes, that. We also don't need to be cats in order for me to assert my dominance over your arse."

Merlin went crimson. "Er, yes, sire. If His Majesty would like—"

"Bed," Arthur ordered. "Now."

"But the ceremony…"

"We'll celebrate it our way first, then the more proper way… and then our way again."

"Sounds good to me," Merlin grinned.

**

Arthur did indeed keep his promise to show Merlin his dominance, but in a less painful manner than before. After the celebrations were over, they did more consummating on Arthur's bed, Arthur biting the nape of Merlin's neck in the process. Merlin rewarded his king's animalistic behaviour with reaching his climax.

The next morning, George came in to deliver the king's breakfast. Upon seeing Merlin float Arthur's tunic toward the bed, George let out a very unmanly, startled shriek and dropped the breakfast tray again. This time Merlin quickly saved the breakfast from meeting the floor, letting Arthur's tunic drop instead, and floated the food back onto its tray and then onto the table.

"We really should have a talk with him," Merlin said.

"Some other time," Arthur said. "Right now, I want you to service your king." He pulled the covers off to show his court sorcerer just how in need of him he was.

"Yes," Merlin agreed, settling between his king's legs. "As His Majesty wishes."

The End.


End file.
